Post-Session Materials
Please note that materials are for the ALI Community only and not for further distribution.
Thursday, February 9th
Opening Session (Mike Toffel) and The Challenge of Climate Change (Daniel Schrag)
The Economics of Climate Change (Robert Stavins)
Climate Change – A Public Health and Health Equity Crisis (Gaurab Basu)
How Investors Think About Climate Adaptation (John Macomber)
Debrief and Reflections (Mike Toffel)
Optional HBS Climate Operations Tour
Additional Resources
Massachusetts Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Viewer
Food
Climate and Ecosystems
Welfare of Animals
Healthier Buildings
The Environmental Working Group’s Healthy Living Home Guide includes guides for healthier purchasing of more than 20 different types of products for building, making improvements and furnishing your home.
The Harvard Office for Sustainability website walks through Harvard’s steps to eliminate harmful chemicals on campus and gives tips for how to reduce your exposure at home.
Healthier Materials: If you’re interested in learn more about how to purchase healthier materials at home, please visit the following websites:
Lighting: If you’re interested in downloading a blue light reducing app for your phone, computer, or tablet – check out Flux.
Harvard Sustainability Newsletters
HSPH C-CHANGE Newsletter: The Harvard School of Public Health’s Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment’s mission is to increase public awareness of the health impacts of climate change and use science to make it personal, actionable, and urgent. Their Climate Optimist newsletter delivers helpful tips and good news each month to help you stay focused on the mission to improve health by tackling climate change. You can subscribe at the bottom of their website.
HUCE Newsletter: The Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) encourages research and education about the environment and its many interactions with human society. Through a variety of grants and fellowships, HUCE supports research related to the environment at every level throughout Harvard. Their newsletter provides information on new research and Harvard environmentally-related events. You can sign up for the newsletter at the bottom of their homepage on their website.
Office for Sustainability Newsletter: Harvard’s Office for Sustainability sends out a newsletter which you can sign up for here.
Friday, February 10th
U.S. Climate Policy: Past and Future (Jody Freeman)
Panel: Decarbonization in the Field
Recording (Requires LinkedIn Login)
Climate Change at Harvard & HBS (Heather Henriksen and Mike Toffel)
ALI Coalition Members Engaged in Climate Change
Additional resources from Warren Adams:
Food Waste
Boston-area organizations involved in food rescue
Nature-based Solutions (NbS)
The Nature Conservancy’s Natural Climate Solutions Handbook
Additional resources from Tamara Ledley:
CLEAN Collection is http://cleanet.org.
The other collection that might be of interest is Subject to Climate. This is David Jaffe's, ALI 2020, project. https://subjecttoclimate.org
Reflections and Close (Mike Toffel)
Professor Mike Toffel (Harvard Business School) will chair this two day deep dive on climate change. The schedule and assignment sheet are available to download in PDF format:
At-A-Glance Schedule (Updated 2/8/23)
PDF of Session Details and Readings (Updated 2/8/23)
The background readings and materials are listed below.
Session I: Opening Session
Thursday, February 9th from 8:30 a.m. – 8:35 a.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Mike Toffel
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Harvard Business School
Faculty Chair, Business and Environment Initiative
Session II: The Challenge of Climate Change
Thursday, February 9th from 8:35 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering
Director, Harvard University Center for the Environment
Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Session Overview
Humans and our institutions are ill prepared for the multiple timescales of climate change. More than half of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will remain there for a thousand years. Roughly 20% will be there for tens of thousands of years. Even if carbon dioxide emissions ceased today, the climate would continue to warm for hundreds to thousands of years as oceans slowly warm and ice slowly melts. And, perhaps the most misunderstood of all, the timescale of decarbonizing our economies, even with ideal technological, political and economic conditions (which is far from the current situation), is likely to be much more than a century, given the scale of infrastructure and the challenges of coordinating global action. Given these timescales, attention to what has been called “climate adaptation” is essential. But a serious response to adaptation will also drive profound changes in diverse areas including architecture, agriculture, transportation, and even government. I will discuss how the necessity of climate action may lead to innovation over the 21st century in surprising dimensions.
Required Pre-Reading
Optional Videos
Please note, these videos are drafts and not for further sharing.
The Physics of Climate Change: https://player.vimeo.com/video/706994559 (Run Time: 47:24)
Carbon Cycle Overview: https://player.vimeo.com/video/405966717(Run Time: 5:43)
Anthropogenic Carbon and the Keeling Curve: https://player.vimeo.com/video/406316632(Run Time: 5:13)
Ralph Keeling and the Missing Carbon, https://player.vimeo.com/video/406308223(Run Time: 6:48)
Carbon Uptake by the Land and the Ocean, https://player.vimeo.com/video/103915377(Run Time: 5:22)
Introduction to Sea Level Rise, https://player.vimeo.com/video/104017824 (Run Time: 7:43)
Predicting Future Sea Level Rise, https://player.vimeo.com/video/438668503(Run Time: 10:35)
Vulnerability of Antarctica's Ice Sheets, https://player.vimeo.com/video/104018042(Run Time: 5:41)
Session III: The Economics of Climate Change
Thursday, February 9th from 10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Robert Stavins
A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development, Harvard Kennedy School
Session Overview
Based upon an economic perspective, Professor Stavins will assess the status of efforts to address global climate change, including both the international negotiations and domestic actions in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. The readings provide essential background for the lecture and discussion.
Required Pre-Reading
Stavins, Robert N. “Is Cheap Oil Good News or Bad?” The Environmental Forum 32 (2015): 14. (1 page)
Stavins, Robert N. “What Does Trump’s Victory Mean for Climate Change Policy?” PBS NewsHour, 2016.(2 pages)
Questions to Consider in Advance of Class
Why is international cooperation necessary to address climate change? Why can’t we rely upon individual countries to take action, as they do with so many other environmental problems?
What is the most encouraging development in the Paris Agreement? What is the weakest element of the Agreement?
What are the implications of low oil prices for climate change and climate change policy?
What is the prognosis for domestic and international climate change policy in the Biden administration?
Session IV: Climate Change – A Public Health and Health Equity Crisis
Thursday, February 9th from 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Gaurab Basu
Founding Co-Director, CHA Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy Instructor, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Session Overview
It is critical that the public understand the public health benefits of climate solutions. In this talk, Dr. Gaurab Basu will review the ways in which climate change impacts health and health equity in the United States and around the world, and describe the way in which health professionals have become more activated to participate in climate leadership.
Required Preparation
Temperature Check Podcast Episode: This Doctor Has the Prescription for Both COVID and Climate(Run Time: 27:14)
Session V: How Investors Think About Climate Adaptation
Thursday, February 9th from 1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
John Macomber
Senior Lecturer, Finance, Harvard Business School
Session Overview
It’s becoming clear that perils like floods, wildfire, drought, sea level rise, and now pandemic are causing more damage than ever before. These exposures are threatening individuals, companies, physical assets, and even government budgets and services. In theory it can be less expensive to invest up front in some aspect of prevention of loss than to invest after the fact in recovery and rebuilding. But it’s difficult to know which assets to protect and how; or even if all assets should be protected. This is exacerbated by the age-old conundrum of “who pays…and when?” This phenomenon is very clear in the recent fire-driven bankruptcy of the US electric utility PG&E. We will look at this from the point of view of PG&E governance, the five choices for investing in resilience, and some of the consequences that with respect to insurance, credit ratings, and cost of capital.
Required Pre-Reading
Please read and prepare to discuss the following HBS case and supplemental articles.
Governing PG&E (HBS Case Study) (30 pages)
NOTE: Please focus on the business aspects of the case and not on the Board of Directors issues. We will be talking about fire, safety, and resilience, not governance.
Climate Change is Going to Transform How and Where We Build (Harvard Business Review)(5 pages)
Climate Risk Is Growing. Is Your Company Prepared? (Harvard Business Review) (10 pages)
Are We on the Verge of Another Financial Crisis? (Harvard Business Review)(7 pages)
Questions to Consider in Advance of Class
What could PG&E have done prior to the fires of 2017-2020 that would have changed the outcome and substantially reduced the loss of life and property?
What should the state of California have done differently, including both electricity regulators and the issuers of residential and commercial building permits?
How might probability of a loss event and size of a loss event influence when it makes sense to invest in some sort of resilience up front and when does it not? (We will use an example of sea level rise and flood reinforcement in Florida to illustrate this technique). How does this calculus change as climate potentially changes?
If rating agencies start to rely on climate modelers to assess physical exposures and even to recommend municipal and corporate bonds to hold or to sell, how might that impact financial markets in the US? In the world?
What methodology does your organization currently use to determine when an investment in resilience makes economic sense? What methodology should your organization use
Session VI: Debrief and Reflections
Friday, February 9th from 3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Mike Toffel
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management
Faculty Chair, Business and Environment Initiative, Harvard Business School
Session VII: Optional HBS Climate Operations Tour
Friday, February 9th from 3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Please note, this tour is for in-person participation only.
Speakers
Jessica Fixsen
Sustainability Manager, Harvard Business School
Rachel Huxhold
Energy & Commissioning Manager, UG2, Harvard Business School
Max Pourshadi
Facilities Coordinator, CSL Consulting, Harvard Business School
Leah Ricci
Associate Director, Sustainability and Energy Management, Harvard Business School
Session Overview
In this optional tour led by the HBS Sustainability and Energy Management office, we will view the climate and energy features on campus.
Session VIII: U.S. Climate Policy: Past and Future
Friday, February 10th from 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Speaker
Jody Freeman (Virtual)
Archibald Cox Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Director, Environmental and Energy Law Program
Session Overview
An overview of federal climate policy including legislation, regulation and key judicial decisions, and discussion of possible paths forward.
Suggested Preparation
CleanLaw Podcast Episode: The IRA and its Clean Energy Implications with Jody Freeman and Greg Dotson (Run Time: 52:50)
Session IX: Panel: Decarbonization in the Field
Friday, February 10th from 9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Please note the different Zoom link for this session below!
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99835989460?pwd=Ky9neEZjR0RBS3I5QWxlRzk4WGNmdz09
Speakers
Matthew Arnold
CEO, Unimacts Global
Mitch Goldstein
CFO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Heather Takle
President and CEO, PowerOptions
Christian Weeks
CEO, enVerid Systems
Moderator
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Harvard Business School
Faculty Chair, Business and Environment Initiative
Session Overview
How can business reduce carbon emissions at scale? Four HBS alumni will share their efforts on the ground to drive this change through innovations in business operations, structured finance, public-private partnerships, and technological advancement with potential for impact across the global economy. From developing fusion energy to improving manufacturing processes, these individuals are demonstrating the important role business plays in addressing the challenges of climate change.
Session X: Climate Change at Harvard & HBS
Friday, February 10th from 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Managing Director, Office for Sustainability, Harvard University
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Harvard Business School
Faculty Chair, Business and Environment Initiative
Session Overview
Heather Henriksen and Mike Toffel will detail some of Harvard’s recent efforts to promote research around climate change and their efforts to change practices and operations around the University in light of the climate crisis.
Session XI: Panel: ALI Coalition Members Engaged in Climate Change
Friday, February 10th from 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Speakers
Warren Adams
2015 ALI Fellow
Founder, Two Degrees Innovation Lab
Ciarán Hayes
2021 ALI Fellow
Former Sligo County Council Chief Executive and Principal, Ciarán Hayes Consultancy
Tamara Ledley
2017 ALI Fellow
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Natural and Applied Sciences, Bentley University
Monty Simus
2015 ALI Fellow
2023 ALI Impact Leader in Residence
Moderator
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Harvard Business School
Faculty Chair, Business and Environment Initiative
Session Overview
Hear from past ALI Fellows on how they have leveraged their skills and experience to tackle challenges related to climate change and sustainability. Working across business, government, and education, these individuals are showing the power that cross-sector collaboration can have to advance positive environmental change.
Session XII: Reflections and Close
Friday, February 10th from 3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Zoom Link: https://hbs.zoom.us/j/99304268191?pwd=L2VxOGYrblhWMEEyS3Q0UzlRWWtjUT09
Meeting ID: 993 0426 8191 / Password: 2023
Faculty
Mike Toffel
Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management, Harvard Business School
Faculty Chair, Business and Environment Initiative